ACCRA, Ghana
Ghana's largest opposition party has chosen the country's former president, John Dramani Mahama (pictured), as its flag bearer for the 2024 presidential election.
Delegates of the National
Democratic Congress (NDC) voted in primaries over the weekend to choose a
candidate for both the presidential and parliamentary polls.
Mahama was declared the
overwhelming winner after polling 98.9 per cent of the votes while his
challenger, former Kumasi mayor Kojo Bonsu, scored 1.1 per cent.
The former president was
tipped by most political analysts to win the primary based on his experience
and influence in the opposition party.
"He has been tried and
tested and comes with a lot of experience," said Kwame Asah-Asante, a
political science lecturer at the University of Ghana.
This confidence in Mahama was
echoed by many of the more than 355,000 NDC party delegates who converged at
401 voting centres across the country over the weekend for the ballot.
"I believe if NDC takes
power, most of the things which we Ghanaians want, NDC can come do it for us.
For instance, taking care of our children. The other side promised us so much
which they were unable to fulfil,” said marketer Kafur Addo.
He says he believes that if
the NDC comes to power, the party will fulfil the promises they have made.
The primaries come as Ghana
holds talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over a $3 billion
bailout to help overcome an economic crisis, and as it faces a growing jihadist
threat from a conflict in neighbouring Burkina Faso.
Analysts believe Mahama will
likely capitalise on the economic crisis facing the country in his presidential
campaign, and delegates have confidence in his abilities.
"I believe in John
Dramani Mahama. He has been a president before. He has been a vice-president
before and he is a communicator too. So, there is no way the sitting president
can do something for us,” said businessman Joshua Rockson.
“We have given him eight years
now and there’s nothing we are seeing now. But with John Dramani Mahama, he can
turn things for us. That’s why we believe in him. That’s why we are here to
vote for him."
The ruling party of incumbent
President Nana Akufo-Addo will hold its own primaries in November, and the
presidential election is scheduled for 7 December 2024.
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